


Let my love throw a spark

by Ex-Genesis (orphan_account)



Category: Disney RPF
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Incest, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-09
Updated: 2010-07-09
Packaged: 2017-11-10 13:24:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/466779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Ex-Genesis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Flu season.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let my love throw a spark

Nick can be cold, harsh, and biting when no one's looking. And he can be soft... Both sides that only his family and closest friends see and each in a different light.  
  
Dad sees the son who will insist on keeping "Poison Ivy" glaringly obvious about an expletive, and a boy who will help his brothers write a song just for their passed grandmother. Mom sees her little boy who knows what he wants and works, fights for it till the end, but who tries his hardest to make those around him feel comfortable and welcome.  
  
Kevin sees a brother who will flat out ignore him some moments, but will indulge in past similarities for the sake of entertaining Kevin while Joe's recording his part in the studio. He also sees the brother who can recognize the love he has for Danielle, and will write a song about that love. Frankie sees Nick's pride have a ripple effect over the members of his family when he refuses to let people badger him more than once a week about his levels even though it's just because they care, and to be honest, sometimes Frankie, even young, worries about his brother too. He also sees the guy he hopes he can grow up to be; kids may or may not be in his future, but if he has them, he hopes he can protect them in the way Nick does, not over-bearing but a consistent safe house.  
  
Joe sees all of that in passing, and more.  
  
The entire world may see Nick's struggle to balance life and love with his need to put work ahead of everything else, but none are so affected by it as Joe. Nick may say 'yes' more often to Joe than anyone else, but that's only because Joe asks for more, needs more. He also hears 'no' more.  
  
Then there's his little brother whom he's had to deal with looking up to. It was hard at first, to see his kid brother doing these notable things like performing on Broadway. Joe was afraid to even try out, but he did it because he thought he had to. How could he let Kevin be in commercials, and Nick be on Broadway while the only thing he does is flirt lamely with girls. His cheesy antics may work on some of them, but it fails a lot more than he'd ever let on. And while girls are nice, Joe knew that wasn't enough for his family. Luckily he found that he actually enjoyed it, and his shell started to crack a little more every day. He was well-prepared by the time he was asked to step up, take the reins as front man of the band.  
  
There's the fact that he doesn't think Nick ever realized how that affected him. Even if it turned out for the better, it took years, and Joe still doesn't feel like he can come close to matching up. Sometimes he'll look at Kevin, Kevin who's ridiculously awkward and sometimes downright boring, and wish he could be more like him. Kevin seems to just  _get_  things he doesn't. He'd never call Kevin anything less than brilliant and mean it. Kev's the most down-to-earth guy he's ever met and Joe can't seem to be like that either. He still feels jaded over the stupidest things, and Kevin can remain charming and laugh things off. Joe tries, but... everyone can pretty much tell when it's just a show. Which he also hates and just makes it all the more obvious.  
  
So yeah, that pisses him off about Nick too.  
  
Yet, Nick can be there for him in ways no one else understands. There'll be moments when Nick is just  _proud_  of Joe, for no reason at all, and it seems to fill every crack that's appeared in Joe's armor since the last time he'd seen it. That glow, that smile expressing just how happy Joe makes Nick.  
  
Not to mention their hugs wouldn't be as fun without Nick feeling the need to struggle out of them sometimes. Joe feels an extra burst of affection for Nick tightening and loosening his chest all at once each time Nick feigns that disdain for his older brother's arms around him. It sounds weird, Joe's sure, but it's just something they do.   
  
Like it's just something they do when they hug each other, hands on hips and over shoulders instead of the middle of the back where it's easier to disentangle. It's just something they do, 'I love you's spilling from their mouths so easily sometimes they lose count of how many times it happens in one conversation. Joe might not notice, but it's also something they do, getting caught in a gaze.  
  
It's Summer Tour 2010, and Joe's not going to lie. This feels like they're winding down to an end here, even though they've got most of the track list settled on for their next album. If they have to start co-headlining again, truly co-headlining, not just some movie promotion tour, then he'll be okay with that. To say 'again' would be generous anyway. Miley and her crew may have treated them that way, but it was always her show. The rest of the time, they were openers. Still, it might be nice. He wonders off and on if he can convince Robert to let Rooney be on the road with them. It's when he tells himself no that he'd like to shed their band name altogether, because he  _knows_  if it weren't for their reputation, mainstream vibe, Robert would totally be into it.  
  
As it is, Joe can hardly get Robert to let him work with him in studio. He knows it's just business, but it still stings. Nick's usually there though, on the other side of things squeezing his shoulder and telling him it'll be fine.  
  
When Nick squeezes his shoulder as the sun gets just high enough to pour right into their hotel room, he's not telling Joe it'll be fine. He's asking if it will be. Because Joe looks kind of pale and where Nick's fingers are digging gently into his t-shirt, Joe radiates heat. "Shit," he says, realizing he's light-headed, and definitely uncomfortable, a little bit heavy-stomached. Definitely sick. His throat had been feeling a little tight the last couple of days, and he'd had a bit of a stuffy nose, but he'd figured it was just allergies, stupid, rotten allergies.  
  
Instead of it being allergies that he can suffer through, it's some bug he can suffer through  _in his hotel room_ . In bed. If he wants any chance of performing within the next twenty-four hours. Nick calls his parents first, then they rearrange some of the interview plans. Working it so that it's mostly Nick and Kevin answering, and mostly over the phone.  
  
The schedule is fixed and everything's out of the way when Nick brings Joe a glass of ice water with a swirly straw in it. Joe rasps out a question of where he got it from as Nick settles on the bed beside him. Their arms brush as Joe angles his wrist up and Nick places the cup back on the bedside. "I went to the store with Rob to pick up some extra medication in case, and some juice if you feel like it later. They had them. Got you purple," Nick tells him unnecessarily, reaching over himself to brush down the side of Joe's head, down past his ear where the hair is sort of twisted up from Joe's tossing and turning.  
  
The smooth drag of nails against his scalp causes Joe to lean his head back against the headboard, eyes closing again. Nick's being soft now and it almost makes Joe feel better, good enough to sleep for an hour and wake up just fine. It's not to say he's the sickest person on earth, but he really doesn't feel well, and everyone agrees that it's better if he doesn't feel like he's going to be sick all night on stage. He's not going to get completely well though, that's the reality of it. Not so soon anyway.  
  
That doesn't seem to matter though, when Nick starts to move from the bed and Joe doesn't want him to, so he forces his eyes open and makes his stiff-sore neck move so that he can give Nick his most openly pleading look. His little brother gives him a soft smile and just shakes his head a little. "Your problem, Joseph, is that you're impatient," Nick informs him as he unbuttons his jeans, unzips, and then slides them to the floor. He just doesn't like laying down in jeans is all, not under the covers anyway, where everything feels too hot and constricting.  
  
He lifts the sheets on his side and kneels into the bed beside his brother before stretching out and pulling the covers back up to match the height Joe has them positioned. Joe just watches him the whole time, until Nick's seemingly settled in, and then he closes his eyes. He feels so drained it's almost ridiculous. Then he feels a soft pull at his fingers, hand half-curled on the mattress, and quirks an eyebrow, one eye slitting open. Slowly, Nick gets Joe to slide down more. Until Joe's back rests against Nick's solid chest, Nick's arms snaked around his waist, Nick doesn't stop coaxing, caressing. Joe starts to feel even warmer, gives a sharp little inhale when the smooth-cool tip of Nick's nose presses in beside his ear.   
  
Nick's careful not to squeeze to hard, but if Joe knew it wouldn't do more harm than good, he'd move around in Nick's arms so that Nick would  _have_  to hold him closer just so Joe wouldn't steadily slip lower in the bed. He keeps Joe company just by being there, quietly telling him 'awesome' stories that Joe didn't quite get to catch up on about London while Joe drifts to sleep. Nick just keeps holding him until it's time to see if Joe can find sturdiness in both his bones, and voice. Nick's got a hand softly curled around his arm muscle as the entire conversation/check-up takes place. Joe thinks he can make it.


End file.
